Death's Avenger (Iron Man's Daughter)
by GaleForce1
Summary: When SHIELD agent Phil Coulson show up at Stark tower, Tony's life gets turned upside down. He, as it turns out, is the biological father of a 8 year old girl. A girl who was just taken from an unstable-cough abusive cough-home, and is seemingly haunted by a ghost with a scythe. If that's not enough, then don't even get him started on Eve's "unique" abilities. Will contain HP soon
1. Chapter 1

It happened in a second. No one heard what Eve said over the sound of a Chitauri firing. All they saw was the small child pushing Loki out of the way, then a flash of blue hit her. Then a scream. The Avengers' didn't even have time to catch her before she fell sideways, hitting the ground with a sickeningly loud thud.

"Evening/Eve!" Multiple people shouted, rushing forward with shocked looks on their faces. Even Loki looked shocked and angry. He wheeled around and used his magic to blast the alien into oblivion. Then he turned to the bleeding girl.

"You stupid child!" He snapped, "Why would you do that?!" Eve smiled at him, as blood ran out of her mouth. There was a hole straight through her upper chest, and her hand rested over it.

"You were going to get hurt," Her voice was horse and tears welled in her eyes from the pain. She had heard the tiny crack in his voice, and saw the saddness in his soul. She saw the differeance in soul from when he was under the staff's power, and just knew. She reached out her hand to the god, and he knelt down next to her.

The hole was too big, too deep for her powers to heal. The wound was drawing too much of her power towards itself, too fast. She felt her life slip from her as her body tried helplessly to heal itself. She knew she was going to die.

"Stupid mortal," Loki said, his voice filled with sadness and bitter humor, "You are too much like your father..." Still... The god took her tiny hand. Eve smiled at him, the looked to her father.

"T-Tony?" Her voice cracked with fear, "I did good today, right?" She saw the pain in his face as she asked the question. Tears brimmed in his eyes.

"Yeah sweetheart," He said, "You were the best Avenger." She smiled as a tear ran down her face. She turned to the others, seeing the tears in their eyes. She saw how Grim was smiling sadly down at her, pulling his cloak over his shoulders.

"You'll take my body to Hel, won't you?" She asked, remembering the promise he made when they met. Grim nodded, and flicked his hood up. She smiled. "Thank you..." The world started to fade, and she felt her best friend lift her up.

"I love you... Daddy," Eve said as the last bit of life left her.

_**-2 month earlier-**_

An hour ago, Tony hadn't been father. Well, he had, he just didn't know it. Hell, Tony had been a father for 8 years and hadn't know a thing about it. Shield though, was a different story. They seemed to know everything about this situation. The fact that they managed to keep this from him, even though he regularly hacked Shield, was both impressive and infuriating. Impressive because they hid it from him, _the_ Tony Stark. It was infuriating because he actually had the right to know this time!

He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he glared at Agent Coulson from across the coffee table. Next to Agent, curled up like a cat was the sleeping form of his 8 year old daughter.

She didn't look like him, or anyone Tony remembered sleeping with - and believe him, even if he had been drunk, Tony would remember someone who looked like _that_. It wasn't that the kid was ugly or anything, in fact, she was adorable. A bit bruised, and worse for the wear - not to mention wearing a Shield uniform like a baggy dress - but as adorable as any other kid. The media and Pepper would eat her up. She just look a bit... Strange.

She had long hair that was silky, and a bit on the fluffy side. It was the color of fresh, undisturbed snow, and curled at its tips. Her skin was milky, and almost matched her hair in color, except for several scars and bruises. Her facial features were sharp, and elvish, with high cheekbones and a sharp jaw. Her noes was a small, button noes, though, and had a light dusting of freckles that were only a shade darker then her normal skin tone - sort of gray in color. On her left cheek was her most notably and strangest feature; A large, black tattoo.

It had been the first thing about the girl that he had noticed, what with the contrast between the dark marking and the girl's light skin and hair. The black marking covered about a fourth of her face, going from her left eye, to her jawline. Two diagonal lines, each attached to a horizontal line at it's end. It looked almost like a lightning bolt, but at the same time it didn't. It immediately made him wonder who, exactly, would tattoo a little kid's face?

"Explain this to me again," Tony demanded. He wanted to be sure he got this right.

Agent sighed, and pointed to his daughter. "This," He said, "Is your daughter, Eve Stark. She has recently been removed from her mother's home, she was an ex of yours named Danielle Lumres, due to it being unsafe for her. Her stepfather said that he didn't want Eve, and to just get rid of her."

"Shield, who has been watching Eve for years, decided to step in and make sure that she wasn't sent to an orphanage. Fury decided it was time for you to be informed of her, and hopefully raise her. So he sent me, and now we are here."

"First off, why was Shield following a kid?" Tony asked, looking at the girl in incredulously.

"We protect our interests," Agent said cryptically. Tony didn't know whether or not he like liked the fact that his young daughter was a Shield interest. Probably not.

"Secondly, what if I don't want her?" Not that he didn't. If this all turned out to be true, and Eve was his daughter, then there was no way in hell that Tony would ever turn her away.

Agent smiled an almost evil smile. "Agent Romanoff has agreed to become Eve's handler, if that's the case. Eve will become the youngest ever Shield recruit, and train to become an assassin." He said.

"Like hell!" Tony shouted. Daughter or not, he wasn't going to hand some kid off to shield knowing full well that she would be turned into a weapon. Agent smirked at him, and he knew this was what the man wanted.

Unfortunately, his shouts seemed to wake up Eve. She blinked slowly, and sat up, looking around. Much to his disappointment, she didn't had his eyes either. Eve had eyes like pale blue glass, unlike his brown ones. They were wide, but didn't have that innocent look that children's eyes should have. They looked like the eyes of old men who had seen too much. They didn't fit on the face of a child.

"Mr. Coulson?" Eve asked, looking slightly confused and apprehensive.

"You fell asleep on the car ride to your father's," Agent said, "Eve, say hello to Anthony Edward Stark, your biological father." The white-haired girl turned to Tony, and scanned him with her eyes. He could almost see the gears turning in her head as she analyzed him.

"Um," Tony said dumbly, "Hi?" The corners of Eve's lips turned up, and she rearranged herself so her feet dangled off the couch.

"'Ello," She said, smiling at him. It didn't touch her eyes.

Tony turned to Agent again. "So do I have to sign something or do I just... Keep her?" He asked, and Eve snorted.

"Shield will send you the paper work," Agent said, then turned to Eve. "Be good for your father," He said, patting her head, "Agent Barton or Director Fury will come check on you in a few weeks, and make sure you like it here" The young girl nodded.

"Yes Mr. Coulson," The girl replied, slightly sad.

Agent stood, and began to walk towards the elevator. "Remember Stark," He said as the elevator opened, "No matter how weird things get, Eve is your daughter." Then the doors closed, leaving the little family alone.

Tony glanced at Eve out of the corner of his eye. What had Agent Coulson meant by that warning? Could Eve's strangeness go further then just looks? She seemed harmless enough, but then again, he had just met her. How would he know?

At the edge of Tony's vision, a shadowy form flickered. His head snapped towards it, but nothing was there. Eve tilted her head to the side, and looked to were Tony was looking. A small, smirk-like smile formed on her face. It was full of knowing, and also mischievousness.

"You saw him," She stated, rather then asked, "And so soon. You must have had a serious brush with death."

"What?" Tony asked, shock clear in his voice.

Eve's smile turned sweet again. "Nothing," She said, waving her hand. Tony thought that maybe this was what Agent meant by 'weird'. He decided that he would leave it be till Pepper got home and could give him some advice. Standing, he looked down at his new daughter.

"We have four hours till Pepper gets home," Tony stated, "Do you want Chinese food, because I want Chinese food." Eve jumped off the couch, and Tony realized how tiny she was. She was less then four feet tall, and the Shield uniform hung to below her knees. A piece of string was tied around her waist, helping keep it on. Tony made a mental note to buy her some clothes.

"Who is Pepper?" Eve asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

"Pepper is my personal assistant, and girlfriend," Tony said, "Don't worry about her, let's just order some food." She nodded and quickly followed as he left the room. Tony, glancing at her once more, could almost imagine his daughter as a puppy, tail wagging happily. Curiosity burned in her eyes.

Tony sighed, he was going to have a lot to explain to Pepper when she got home...

_**0oO0oO**_

Eve liked this man. She had many reasons to like Tony, and not many to dislike him. He was her father, first off, and had agreed to take her in. He bought her deciduous food, and let her watch him build things in a cool lab. Most of all, he had a nice soul, and could even see Grim. Well, Tony could _almost_ see Grim, and over time, he may be able to see him fully.

As for his soul, it was a funny thing. It was large, and full of life and energy. It reached out and seemed to encase everything around him. It had a pretty mix of colors to it, too, one Eve didn't see too often. There was a lot of bright red, with a thin layer of yellow-orange outlining it. It had specks of lavender in it, along with the tinniest bit of dark blue and emerald green. An even smaller bit of his soul, right over his heart, was a dot of gold. It was nice, and comforting.

Eve watched as her father worked with this red and gold gauntlet-thing. It had a blue circle on the palm, and she wondered what it did. She wonder whether or not it had something to do with that Iron man thing Mr. Barton and Miss Romanoff had mentioned. That though made her wonder if the suit was actually here, in the tower. Eating a bite of chow mei, she glanced at her only friend.

His name was Grim, and he was both a friend and a protector. The first thing people noticed was that he was tall, and lithe, like a ballerina. He had messy, shoulder-length black hair, that hung like shaggy curtains. His skin was pale, with the same symbol on his right cheek as there was on her left on. His eyes were narrow, hawk-like, and dark black in color with flecks of red.

Grim was also translucent to Eve, and invisible to everyone else, unless they had had a brush with death. Even those people couldn't physically touch him, only she could do that. Sure, he could pick things up an move them around, but most people would just walk straight through Grim. Eve on the other hand, could hug him, braid his hair, and even play board games.

Grim glanced at her, and smiling at her kindly. She smiled back, and looked at her father's back. He was still working with the gauntlet-thing. It made her thoughts drift back to the suit, and, in turn, the tower.

'Grimmy,' She thought, pointing her thoughts towards her friend.

'Yes Evening?' He replied, looking at her.

'Could you look around the tower for me?' She asked him, 'Just so that you can make sure I don't get lost later.' Grim smiled, and gave a little bow.

"Yes, Mistress," Before Eve knew it, he had disappeared from sight.

"Did you say something kiddo?" Tony asked, putting down his work and looking at her. Her head snapped back towards him, and smiled.

"I just asked if there was something wrong with your heart," She asked, diverting his attention. His eyes widened slightly, and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt. A circular machine that glowed blue was protruding slightly from his chest.

Eve's eyes widened as well. It was just like the Tesseract, the cube, as she called it - otherwise known as the thing that Shield had let her play with at the base. Only this was small, more compacted, and not quite as... Whole... As the cube had been. It was as if the thing in his chest was an incomplete replica of the cube. Still, the fact that anyone could come so close to rebuilding it amazed her.

"How did you replicate the Tesseract so closely?" She asked, her eyes still wide. Tony, who had picked up his coke, dropped it, and managed to choke at the same time.

"Shit!" He coughed out, "JARVIS, please clean that up!" Jarvis, who Eve had found out was an AI that controlled Stark tower, quickly got to work as Tony turned to her.

"Mr. Tony?" Eve asked shyly, worried that she did something wrong.

"How do you," He asked slowly, "Know about the Tesseract?" Eve tried to smile it off, and gave an awkward giggle. "Eve..."

"Shield let me play with it while I was staying with them," She said, forging innocence.

It happened within seconds, and Eve saw it coming. His soul didn't seem to change much, but did indicated his spiked curiosity. Tony picked something up off a counter, and tried to discreetly walk towards her. Her eyes widened as she saw it was some kind of needle. Immediately, images and memories flashed in front of her eyes. Images of her mother, The School, the cold metal tables, the straps holding her body down...

A scream ripped from her throat as she scrambled to get away. She ran for the stairs, knowing that the elevator would take too long. Tony, of course, was running after her, still holding the long needle.

She ran up the tower's steep stairs. Her feet pounded out a constant, panicked rhythm, echoed by Tony's. She had no idea where she was heading, all she knew was that she had to get away from the needle.

She turn a corner, and throw open a door. It was the floor Mr. Coulson had first brought her to. She rand past a posted plant, and then bumped into a pair of legs, landing on the floor with a thud. Tony came to a stop right behind her. She felt a quick jab on her arm and yelped.

"Ha!" Tony said triumphantly, drawing some blood from her arm. Eve looked up at Tony, eyes wide. He just wanted her blood? He didn't inject her with anything? Why didn't he just say so?

"Tony Edward Stark," A sharp voice said, "What are you doing?" Both Stark's turned to look at the source of the voice. It was a tall, shapely, strawberry blonde, with a serious look on his face. Tony actually looked scared.

"Hay Pepper," He said sheepishly, "You weren't supposed to be home for a mother few hours."


	2. Chapter 2

"Tony Edward Stark," A sharp voice said, "What are you doing?" Both Stark's turned to look at the source of the voice. Pepper was standing over his daughter, arms crossed and a scowl firmly on her lips. Tony immediately knew that she had seen him take Eve's blood, and wasn't happy about it. He was ready to shit bricks, not that he would ever show it.

"Hay Pepper," He said sheepishly, setting the needle on a side table, "You weren't supposed to be home for another few hours." Eve had migrated from the floor to slightly behind him, grabbing the hem of his shirt. She seemed as scared as Tony.

"It's 8," Pepper said flatly, "Explain." Eve's grip tightened as Pepper spoke. Tony absentmindedly patted her head in a comforting fashion as Pepper narrowed her eyes at the pair. Then her face went slack with realization. "It happened, didn't it?" She asked, staring at Eve, and Tony knew he was caught.

"Um... Pepper, this is Eve Stark," Tony said, "Shield dropped her off today." Pepper raised an eyebrow.

"Shield?"

"Yeah, _Shield_," Tony said, "She's going to be living with us from here on out." Pepper nodded, and knelt down next to Eve. She smiled kindly at the younger girl, and held out her hand. Eve flinched back, but tried to hide it. Tony filed that away as things to look into. Pepper seemed to notice it as well, but decided not to comment and just kept smiling.

"Hello Eve," She said, "I'm Pepper Potts, you dad's girlfriend. I hope we can get along." Eve shyly took her hand, but didn't come out from behind Tony.

Tony thought Eve's behavior was getting increasingly strange. Was it normal for kids to act like this? Eve had been fine with him, if you don't count the needle incident. She had followed him like a little duck for hours, asking questions and watching him work. She hadn't even flinch when he patted her head or ruffled her hair. Now, she hadn't even spoken since they ran into Pepper.

Pepper frown at Tony, and raised her eyebrows. She had noticed Eve's fear as well. Tony just gave a discreet shrug. He was grateful that Pepper was as observant as she was, and as good with children. She would be a big help raising Eve, if they could get the little girl comfortable around her. It shouldn't be too hard, Pepper was one of the nicest people he met, and Eve seemed smart.

"We have extra Chinese food from earlier," Tony said, "We should have have that dinner." Pepper rolled her eyes at him, knowing he was practically addicted to the food.

"How much did you buy this time?" She asked sarcastically.

"A lot," Eve said, her voice softer then normal.

Pepper smiled at her. "Yeah, he always does," She said, standing up, "How about you tell us about yourself while we eat?" Eve nodded, and followed closely behind as Tony and Pepper walked towards the kitchen.

As they walked, something caught Tony's eye. It wasn't the shadowy figure from before, this time it was a potted plant that was in the hallway. A dead potted plant, all shriveled up and wilted. Tony was so surprised that he actually stopped to examine it. He was sure that the plant had been alive the last time he saw it, which was just before he and Eve went to the lab. How did it die?

Eve paused next to him. The look on her face was confusing. It almost looked like regret, tinged with sadness. Tony didn't know why she would regret the death of the plant, or be sad about it. He filed it away with Eve's other strange behavior. Then Pepper called them from the kitchen, and they left the plant alone.

0oO0oO0oO

"So Eve," Pepper asked, "How old are you?" They had just reheated the Chinese food, and were seated around the table. Eve had been sat between he and Pepper, awkwardly eating noodles with chopsticks. It was funny, she was failing miserably, but refused to use a fork. Even Pepper had an amused look on her face as she watched Eve try.

Eve looked shyly at her. "I turn 8 a little over a week ago," She said, and Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like I need to get you a present," He said, "What do you want? A car? How about a gigantic party?" She just shook her head.

"Shield throw me a party already," She said quickly, "I don't really need anything." Tony and Pepper shared a look. Shield, as in Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division SHIELD, threw a party? That was... Surprising...

"Just tell me, Pep, or Jarvis if you think of anything," Tony said, sitting back, "How long were you with Shield?"

Eve looked down at her fingers, and counted. "About two years..." She said, finally looking up, "But they first made contact about a year before that." Tony's jaw dropped.

"Why didn't they bring you to Tony any sooner?" Pepper asked, clearly shocked.

A bitter smile slipped onto the young girl's face. It looked odd, and out of place. "First year, mother was alive," Eve said, "Second two years, they thought Tony would be a bad dad for me."

"Wow," Pepper said, "What did you do for the second years?"

"I mostly help Mr. Coulson," She said. Pepper smiled at the name.

"At least you were safe with Phil," Pepper said, relieved. Eve tilted her head to the side and gave Pepper a funny look. Then she smiled. The thought that Pepper knew, and seemingly trusted, Agent seemed to comfort the little girl.

"What did you help Agent with?" Tony asked, curious about what Shield could need the help of an 8 year old for.

"Stuff..." She muttered, eating a bit of noodles.

"What kind of stuff?" Tony pushed, and Pepper gave him a look. Yeah, he knew he shouldn't be pushing, but he couldn't help it! What did Shield need his daughter for? Why did they keep her with them for two years? Yeah, she said it was because he would have been a bad dad but it didn't sit right with him. There was something else, some other reason, for keeping her. Not to mention that comment about the Tesseract earlier.

Eve seemed to think over the question. She narrowed her eyes at him, and eat another mouthful of noodles. She was analyzing the situation, analyzing what he would do if she told the truth. He should know, he had had that look on his face more then once during his childhood, and even a few times during his adulthood. He glanced at Pepper, and knew she saw the same thing he did.

Then light flickered in her eyes. She glanced to the side of her as she eat her noodles. _Attempted _to eat noodles, he thought, noting that half the time she either missed her mouth, or the noodles slipped. She was distracted by whatever was next to her. It seemed to have her full attention.

Then she turned back to Tony and Pepper. Her eyes were bright, and whatever just happened seemed to clear something up for her. Gave her a knew perspective for the question, and she seemed to come to a decision in that moment.

"They wanted my advice on the Avengers initiative." She said, "And they wanted me to check out the candidates." Tony's jaw dropped.

"What?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah," Eve said, "I met a whole bunch of cool people. I met Falcon, Dr. Strange, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, I actually lived with Black Widow and Hawkeye, then there was Wolverine, and Silver Surfer..." The little girl continued to mutter off a long list of names, ignoring the looks Pepper and Tony gave her.

"Wasn't that dangerous?" Pepper asked. Eve shook her head.

"They let me play with lots more dangerous stuff," She said, "The Tesseract, some really cool guns, they even let me spar with Miss Hill!" She said it so chirpily, so happily, that Tony was floored.

"They let you play with guns?!" He asked, nearly dropping his orange chicken.

"Yap," She said, "It was fun."

"Why?" Pepper asked worriedly.

"They wanted me to," Eve said simply, and Tony realized that he might need talk about listening to people with her.

An awkward silence fell over the trio. Eve sat in her chair, kicking her legs and trying, and failing, to eat her noodles. Gears were turning in her head, Tony could see it on her face. She was biting her lip, and her eyebrows were slightly scrunches.

Tony just stared at her, wondering if there was any chance that she wasn't his daughter. She didn't look like him, but her expressions were almost identical to his. Shield would have had to do some pretty intensive training, and would have had to studied him pretty closely. He was about to comment on it too, when Pepper cut him off.

"Why don't we go watch a movie?" Pepper said, "You can even pick which one Eve." Eve's face light up.

"Really," She said, amazement in her voice, "Clint never lets me choose, he always picks _The Lord of The Rings..._"

"You can pick anything on Netflix," Pepper said gentle, "Just go to the living room and Jarvis will help you." Eve nodded, and happily ran out of the room, noodles in hand. Pepper gave Tony a pointed look.

"What?" He asked, holding up his hands in a sign of innocence.

"We are going to have a long talk once she goes to sleep," She said, "And you are going to explain everything to me." Tony nodded, he had figured that much. Pepper stood up, and pushed in here chair. "Good, now lets go make sure Eve doesn't pick out something like _Rubber._" Tony nodded, and watched as she left the room.

He realized that now was _not _a good time to be a smart-ass. In fact, he probably shouldn't be a smart-ass to his girlfriend for a while. Pepper, while she seems to have taken Eve's existence in stride, would give him Hell once the little girl went to sleep if he was smart with her.

Shaking his head, he stood and followed his girlfriend and daughter. He would deal with that later, and hopefully by then, Jarvis would have some more information on Eve. He had told his AI to search everything from Shield to the Pentagon to hospital records for anything on an 'Eve Stark' or her mother. In a few hours, he would have every document with the word Eve and Stark, or in it..

0oO0oO0oO

Eve fell asleep fairly fast.

About halfway through the movie - _The Muppet's _- he had felt something slump against his side. He had half expected it to be Pepper, but was surprised to see a head of white hair. Her chest rose and fell evenly, her eyes were closed. Then he something that made him laugh. It was soft, very girlish, and coming from Eve.

It was snoring.

Tony hadn't known her for long, but he just hadn't expected Eve to be a snorer, like him. She was so quiet when she was awake, barely talking while they were in the labs, and he had just _thought _that she would be just as quiet in her sleep. Still, it made him feel... closer to her some how.

He gently brushed a strand of hair away from around her neck and paused. He saw for the first time that the most of her skin, with the exception of her face and upper neck, was covered in a multitude of scars. They were all slightly old, but some seemed closer to the color of her skin, while others seemed as white as her hair. He figured that the whiter ones were the newest ones, since several of them overlapped the ones closer to the color of her skin.

He scrunched up is eyebrows. How did an 8 year old get so scarred? He went to check so see if her legs were like her arms, when she muttered something and curled further into his side, clutching his shirt tightly. It sounded like 'o_toosan', _something that he had heard Japanese children call their fathers when he was at a Stark Expo in Japan.

That's when it all hit Tony. Once Shield sends him the papers, and he signed them, he would be legally responsible for a child's life. He would be a dad. Hell, as far as Eve seemed concerned, he already was her dad. Eve now looked to him as her only provider and protector for the foreseeable future.

Tony realized that he had no clue how to be a dad to her. Sure, he could easily give her everything she wanted in terms of material possessions. He was rich, so if she asked for it, he could buy it for her. But in terms of raising Eve, in terms of providing a safe place that she could always tum to? He had no idea how he was going to do that. He had no one to model himself after - his own father had been a cold alcoholic, and his mother had been aloof and distant.

What if he did something stupid? What if he turns into his father? What if one of his experiments goes wrong and she ends up hurt, or worse, killed? Worse still, what if Eve turns out like Tony? Oh god, now that he thought about it, there were hundreds of ways him being a dad could go wrong.

He looked at Pepper, who was siting at one end of the couch, helplessly. "What am I going to do Pep?" He asked quietly, careful not to wake Eve. She gave him an understanding look.

"I can't tell you how to act this time, Tony," She said, "This isn't a press conference, and I'm not her mother. She also seemed scared of me."

"What if I screw up?" He asked, looking down at Eve's peaceful face.

"Tony," Pepper said, "You _are _going to screw up -" "Hay!" "- All parents screw up. But you can't abandon her because of that. If she is your daughter, then she's going to need you."

"I have no idea how to raise a kid though, and she's already turning out to be pretty strange!" Tony said, "I've know about her for a day, and she's already admitted _working with Shield_. And she knew there was something wrong about my heart!"

Pepper gave him a look. "Piratically everyone in the world knows about your heart," She said flatly.

"She seemed surprised at the arc reactor though," Tony admitted to her, "And she asked 'how I replicated Tesseract' when she saw it. No one other then my father and I should know about any connection between the two, and even those are just theories. And the fact that Shield was using an 8 year old - a 6 to 7 year old at the time - to find candidates for the Avengers initiative. Not to mention..." He trailed off.

"What is it?" Pepper asked, looking at him and Eve suspiciously.

"So far, in just four hours," He started, "Two strange thing happened, like straight out of a ghost hunting show. First, I saw some kind of shadow next to her when she first woke up," Pepper raised an eyebrow, so he continued. "She actually told me after I saw it, 'You saw him,' like she knew the thing that I saw. Then in the labs, something said, 'Yes Mistress' or something!" Pepper raised an eyebrow.

"I'll call and ask Phil," Pepper said. Tony shook his head.

"No need," He said, "I have Jarvis looking for all files and records with the 'Eve' and 'Stark' - as while as files with 'Danielle Lumres' - in them. Just let me put Eve to bed." Pepper nodded, and Tony moved to remove Eve's hands from his shirt. He paused though, just as he went to pick her up.

Then he thought, screw it, and just secured her in his arms, close to his chest. He stood up, and Pepper nodded her approval to him, a small smile on her face. He smiled back at her, and carried Eve out of the room. He passed a side table, and noted the syringe full of blood. He made a note in his head to test it later.

Finally, he came to the guest room. It would be a decent place for her to wake up. As it should, Pepper designed it that way. The walls were cream, is the light blue and orange outline of shells in the corner of one. The bed was large, with a fluffy blue duvet on it, and an unbelievable number of pillows. There was a white dresser and vanity up against the walls, and a dark leather trunk at the foot of the bed.

Tony gently laid Eve down the bed. Almost immediately, the little girl rolled over, and curled up into a loose ball. She looked cold... Tony paused on his way out,and moved back over to the bed. He gently wiggled the duvet out from under her, and tucked it carefully around her, pulling it all the over her shoulders.

There it was again. His head snapped up, and he stared at the shadowy figure. It was standing on the other side of the bed, and stayed there this time. It seemed like the blurry silhouette of a tall male, with it's head tilted down to look at the sleeping girl. Tony stared at it (Or him?), his face a mix of shock and suspicion.

"Hay..." He said slowly, waving at the ghost-shadow-man-thing. He looked at Tony, and raised it's hand. "Jarvis," Tony said, "Scan for heat signatures in the room..." Then it sat down on the bed. The bed actually _sank _under the shadow's weight. Oh, well that's slightly disturbing...

"There are three heat signatures in the room sir," Jarvis said, "Two's sources are known, your's and Miss Eve's, the one sitting on the bed in of unknown origins." Tony stared at the shadow with wide eyes.

"I think I'm looking at the source Jarvis," He said, quickly snatching Eve up as the shadow reached out to touch her. He, as any sane person would do, left the room.

"It's official," He informed Pepper and he sat Eve down on a chair, "My kid is hunted." He laid a blanket over Eve, and turned to his girlfriend. "The creepiest thing just happened to me." He quickly explained the latest encounter with the shadow. Pepper raised her eyebrows, and gave him a half smile.

"Any theories yet?" She asked, half sarcastic, half serious.

"Several," He said, moving over to fridge to get a beer, "Most along the lines of her making a deal with some kind of devil." Pepper gave him a very pointed look as he pulled out a beer, and he put it back sheepishly. Setting for a coke, he sat at the counter.

"She's barely 8," Pepper said flatly, "We need to go look at those files." Tony looked at her, like she'd gone insane. "What? Tony, I don't think the shadow will kill her. You said yourself it said, 'Yes Mistress,' so it must listen to her to some degree. I have a feeling she will be safe."

Tony sighed, but nodded. "Fine," He said, "But, Jarvis, watch her for any signs of danger."

"Of course sir," Jarvis said. The AI had taken a liking to the little girl, and the strange feeling that came with her.

Tony nodded, and looked at Pepper. "Let's pull up the files in the lab." Pepper stood up, and followed him. Tony grabbed the syringe full of blood on the way.

"What did you take Eve's blood for?" Pepper asked as they entered the elevator.

"I want to run a few test on it," Tony said, "DNA, kidney, liver, thyroid function, blood sugar, x-gene, m-gene, blood clotting, simple immunology, cholesterol levels. The normal things." Seeing Pepper's confused and slightly pointed look. "What?" He asked, "I just want to make sure my kid's healthy!"

Pepper didn't believe him for a second.

"What the hell?" Tony muttered, reading through the document once more. Er, well, _look at _the document. Most of the typing was covered by black lines, except for the words 'Eve Tsubaki Stark' and 'File 75436'. Pepper looked over from her screen.

"Did you find something?" She asked.

"It not what I found," He said, "It's what I haven't. This is the 17th file like this Pep, I've never seen so many highly classified document on one person, or from so many sources. The FBI, Pentagon, CIA, SWORD, SHIELD, the UN, U.S. Department of Education, to name a few. Pepper, this is a child we are talking about. A child who has more classified and hard copy files then I can count." He scrolled through the blacked out files to prove his point.

Pepper placed a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down Tony," She said, "Should I call Phil yet?"

"No," Tony said, "Let's wait to see if we can get anything from the blood test, or if I can get something out that shadow." He saw the look his girlfriend, and half glared. "Yes, I am go on that ghost hunt. Fully decked out EMF Detector and everything." This was an argument they had been having since the elevtor ride to the labs.

"Just do it when I'm not home," Pepper said with a sigh, "Let go to bed, we obviously aren't going to find anything thing in the files." Tony sighed, but nodded.

"Fine," He said as they walked back towards the elevator, "But Eve's staying with us. I still don't trust that ghost boy ..."

**0oO0oO0oO**

**Hello internet! I would like to thank you for making it to chapter two of Death's Avenger (Iron Man's Daughter)! I would actually like to address two things in this author's note.**

**First, I was thing of giving Eve another friend, or make a few more. Either a mutant like Hisako Ichiki (Amour) or Jean-Paul (Northstar), or a hero like Kamala Khan (Latest Ms Marvel) or Damian Wayne (Batman's son/Robin form Son of Batman, most likely). Maybe make her form her on little team at a later date. All would be deage - expect for Damian, who was only 10 in the Son of Batman - with their backstories slightly altered to fit the story. If you have any other heroes - from any fandom - you think would be a good fit, comment the name/super hero identity, or message it to me. Which ever works.**

**As for the second thing, I would also like to personally thank all those who commented, and address as a few of the comments up to this point (And yes, I read all your comments):**

**Currahee506 - There will be more, lots more. I have several ideas for future arcs, involving several villains, settings, and even fandoms. Hope you will continue reading till then.**

**ronniefranco8 - I loving writing it.**

**LunarGate3 - Thanks for your comments. I was a bit hesitant to post it when I came up with it, but hearing that people like you love it make me happy and excited to keep writing it.**

**Snow Shadow 17 - First off, I love your name. Secondly, I hope really did that as a child, because that would be great. Yes, needles are a fairly common fear - at least 10% of American adults though, probably many more, and many, many more children - and one of the two fears I gave Eve. As you've probably guessed, her second one is a slightly less server fear of women. Both will be explained later...**

**Thanks for reading all of that! Please continue to do so. Oh, and I meant 'oldest friend' when Eve was describing Grim, not her 'only friend'. I just realized that mistake as I was writing this.**


	3. Chapter 3

Eve was the first to wake up.

Her eyes flew open, but she made no sound. She had learned at a young age not to scream when the nightmares woke her up. Screams meant beatings, and beatings meant locked door. Locked door meant she was forgotten, and being forgotten meant no food, or water... That meant weakness, and weakness meant... Weakness meant... Eve shutter, and tried to curl into a tighter ball. Then her head hit something solid.

Eve froze, and realized that this wasn't her Shield bunk. She quickly made the connection that, if this wasn't her bunk, then the breathing she heard wasn't Uncle Clint and Aunt Natasha. It made her spin stiffen, and her breath hitch. Oh god, if this wasn't Shield, then where was she?

'Grim!' She called out in her head, 'Grim!' She heard his footsteps approach, and knew he hadn't floated for her benefit.

'Yes?' He asked, the smirk in his voice clear.

'Where am I?' She asked, but before he answer, she shot off more frantic questions. 'Why am I here? Was I captured? Who is in this bed? Does Shield know? Please tell me Aunt Natasha and Uncle Clint knows!''

Grim let out a soft chuckle. 'You are at Stark Tower,' He said, and it all started to come back to her.

'Tony,' She said.

'Yes,' Grim said, 'We are staying here now, with your father and his girlfriend, who decided you could sleep in between them tonight.' There was laughter in his voice, and it was clear that he found this situation amusing. God, she ahda hit him.

'Why?' She asked, glaring at the mass that she could only imagine was her father. This was Tony's fault, it had to be. Tony's soul was impulsive, so this must have been an impulse of his. Even now she could feel his soul try to wrap around hers, trying to trap her.

It was, in a sense, his soul's way of showing how happy it was to be reuniting with hers... In a strange and unique way... Souls, by general law, know and feel things that a person doesn't, and, in turn, a person can learn a lot from a person's soul. You can tell how old a person is, if they are sick, or in a stable relationship. You can tell parts of their personality, as well as their mood. That's not even all that you can tell. Eve could go on for hours about the laws and traits of souls, and all she had learned about them.

'I decided to do a little experiment with your father,' Grim said, 'He has decided that I'm

some kind of devil and he, in some vain hope of protecting you, has decide to keep you under the close watch of himself and Jarvis.' He snorted. 'If I was really some devil I would just kill him and kidnap you.'

'Thanks...'

'So are you going to get up?' He asked, a grin in his voice.

'Will you take me to the kitchen?' She asked aloud, the sleepiness of morning setting in as the panic left her. She yawned, and sat up, staring at her oldest friend. He looked disheveled, like he had just woken up. He must have slept on a chair or couch.

"Of course Evening," He replied - out loud - and she wiggled out from the place where she was wedged between Miss Pepper and Tony. Grim offered her his hand, and she took it, rubbing her eyes with the other. "Come along Mistress, you can make breakfast for your new family." Eve nodded, and allowed her friend to pull her down the hallway and out of the room, yawning again.

0oO0oO0oO

Tony was the second to wake up.

One second, he was asleep, the next, he was rolling over and was awake. Blinking registered it with him, along with the smell of food from the kitchen. It smelled like heaven. That, in his half asleep mind, was probably the best thing he's noticed since walking up.

Still half asleep, he dragged himself through the kitchen doorway. His nose was the first thing that entered, followed by his hunched body. He looked at the plates of pancakes on the table, then to the llittle girl, who was cleaning a pan. He had to pause.

Scanning through his brain, he thought back to yesterday. Oh, yes, Eve was now living with him... And was his long lost daughter... Yeah, who - thankfully - didn't have her strange shadow this morning. Yeah, _that _little girl. And she didn't seem to notice him.

A mischievous smirk crept onto his face. He slowly moved up behind Eve, making sure not to make to much sound. It was easy, she was humming, in a loud, slightly strange pattern. When he got close, He stood up straight, and held his arms up like claws.

"Boo!" He said, hoping to scare the unaware girl.

She didn't even flinch.

"Hi Tony," She said, glancing over her shoulder. Then she ignored him, his own daughter flat out ignored him, so she could clean a pan. Worse, he thought he heard slight laughter coming from the walls. He had to pout slightly.

"You know we have something called a dishwasher to wash that for you," Tony said, pointing to said appliance. Eve glanced at it, then back to her pan. She stuck out her bottom lip, pouting, and looked up at Tony.

"I couldn't get it to work," She said in a slight whine. Tony laughed, and ruffled her hair.

"I'll show you how to work it kiddo," He said, and Eve nodded, setting the pan down. She followed Tony, and watched closely as he explained how to work the dishwasher. While he was at it, he explained a few others, like the coffee maker and microwave.

Tony knew that he and Pepper both worked a lot, and that he sometimes forgot that humans need food. He wanted to be sure that, just in case they forgot, Eve would still be able to get warm food. He didn't want her to starve, that would be bad. Though, consider the way the pancakes she managed to cook smelled, he didn't think he had too much to worry about. He almost snorted. At least he didn't have to worry about Eve living off leftover Chinese food.

When he finished explaining the appliances to her, the two sat down at the table and ate. Eve had sat in the same spot as she had last night Tony noticed that she was still wearing the baggy Shield uniform as she had been. Now that he thought about it, she and Agent hadn't showed up with anything other then the clothes on their backs. Why? If Eve had been with them for two years, she should have gather more possessions. He decided to voice his concerns.

"Did Shield give you anything other then that uniform," He asked, concern thick in his voice.

Eve nodded, and chewed a mouthful of pancakes. "Un-Fury will probably bring my things over in a few week, or make someone else do it," She paused then, her fork halfway to her mouth, "Probably make someone else." Tony nodded, knowing how Fury was.

"So did you enjoy working with Shield?" Tony asked, wanting to find out all he could about Eve.

"Yep," She said, "Shield was fun, and I made lots of friends." Tony raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" He asked, "But Shield is full of cranky old men, didn't you want to, you know, hang out with people your own age?" Eve shook her head and frowned.

"I did," She asked, seeming slightly confused. Tony, in turn, was confused as well. He didn't get a chance to ask about it though, because Pepper walked in. She looked disheveled, but more awake then Tony had been. Still, she seemed confused for a second, looking between Tony, Eve, and the three plates of pancakes.

"Tony didn't cook for you, did he?" She asked Eve, "Because I can get you a bucket if he did." Eve let out a shy giggle, and shook her head slowly.

"Silly," She muttered, "I made them Miss Pepper..." She then pointed to the third chair. "Those are yours." Pepper smiled at Eve, who shyly smiled back. The older woman sat down, and began to eat.

Good, Tony though, at least those two didn't seem as awkward around each other as last night. He remembered how Eve had sat as far from Pepper - and coincidentally, as close to Tony - as the couch had allowed. Now, Eve's fear had seemed to fade into shyness, and - considering how she wasn't even a pre-teen yet - Tony figured that it was probably normal. No need to call a therapist yet... As far as Tony knew...

"These are wonderful Eve," Pepper said kindly, "You made these all by yourself?" Eve nodded, and stood from her chair. She placed her hand on her hip and pointed her thumb at her chest as she looked at the ceiling.

"_I can cook_!" She said, totally and unabashedly proud. Then, she just sat back down, and continued to eat her pancakes, looking as if nothing happened. Tony snorted but decided against commenting. Pepper on the other hand, turned to Tony.

"She's definitely your kid," She said, her lips quirked up in a smile. Tony had to agree.

The three were quiet as they eat their food. It wasn't really a comfortable silence, or an awkward one, it was just... Silence. Neither he or Pepper knew anything to talk about with a kid, and Eve wasn't sharing. Tony had no idea what more to ask her. He had the feeling that, if he were to ask, he would get nothing about her past. He may be able to get a few details about her time with Shield, but... Even that was looking bleak. Still, if he didn't find anything in the blood test, then he would probably do something drastic. Or stupid.

Probably stupid.

Eve glanced to the side, staring at the wall. She, again, seemed to be talking to something that wasn't there, without actually talking. Tony looked at the wall. He was relieved not to see anything, but had the sinking feeling that there was really something there. He decide to see if he could get anything about the shadow out of her.

"So..." Tony said.

"_So..._" Eve said with a giggle, her eyes snapping towards him.

"You said you hung out with people your age," Tony said, "How about you tell Pepper and I about them?" Eve nodded, and took a deep breath.

"Before you get to into that," Pepper butted in, "Tony, Bruce call. He says that he's going to be a bit late for the meeting today." Tony cocked an eyebrow, and turned his full attention to Pepper.

"What's the occasion?" Tony asked, "Wayne's never late." In all the years Bruce and Tony had been friends, Bruce had rarely ever been late.

"There was an emergency, and he had to fly home last night," Pepper said, "He's flying back from Gotham as we speak." Tony face light up with a flash of hope.

"Tell me that little brat got sick or something," He said, scrunching up his nose at the thought of Bruce's 10 year old son, who had started to come to business meetings about a year ago. Though, now that Tony thought about it... Bruce found out about Damian under very similar circumstances as Tony found out Eve. Maybe Bruce could give him some advice on long lost children. "Bruce is staying for dinner right?" Tony asked his girlfriend.

"Damian's a sweetheart," Pepper said, half glaring at Tony, "I don't know why you don't like him."

"So is Demon coming or not?" Tony asked, glancing at Eve, "I don't want him infecting my daughter with his evilness." Eve looked on with interest, but didn't seem to fully understand the conversation.

"Yes Tony," Pepper said, clearly not amused, " Bruce is bring his son, and they are both staying for dinner. And I doubt Eve or Damian are going infect each other with anything,_ they're 8._" Tony was about to comment that Damian was 10, and that those two years made all the difference, when Eve cut him off.

"Damie is 10," She chirped happily, "And he once infected me with spots!" It was a simple and childish statement, but both adults looked at her with wide eyes. Tony had to reanalyze what she said. _Damie? _

"What?" Tony asked, raised his eyebrows. Eve turned to him, and tilted her head to the side.

"Damie gave me chicken pox!" Eve said, pointing to her face, "They were everywhere! Brucie made us stay inside for a whole week! Mr. Alfred let us eat a whole bunch of ice cream though, so we were fine!" Tony glanced at Pepper, wondering if it was OK to press. Pepper nodded once.

"You know Bruce Wayne?" He asked, and Eve nodded.

"Brucie was one of my favourite," Eve said, smiling softly, "He and Damie were one of the first family that Fury sent me to stay with. They both told me about you, Tony." Then Eve broke into giggles. "Brucie calls you annoying, but Damie just told me you were stupid."

Tony made a face. "That little brat..." Tony muttered, glaring at nothingness. Eve giggled more, her face breaking out in a huge grin. It was the first time Tony had seen Eve really smile since she had arrived. Tony had to grin back at her.

"So," Pepper said, also smiling, "Are you going to stay with Tony so that you can see Bruce and Damian, or do you want to stay here?"

"I'll stay with Tony," Eve said, "I haven't talked to Brucie or Damie in months..." Pepper nodded, then gave Tony a stern look.

"Don't kill her if you two work in the lab," She said seriously, and Tony looked indigently at his girlfriend.

"Tony?" Eve said, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah Eve?" He asked, almost hesitant.

"Can I borrow a shirt?" She asked, "Damie always makes fun of me when I show up in Shield uniforms. I want to rub it in his face that I don't need to wear them any more!" Tony, for some reason, didn't like the idea of Damian making fun of Eve.

"Sure," Tony said, "Anything to shove up that little demon's a-"

"Tony!" Pepper said, quickly cutting him off, "You can't curse in front of children." Eve looked between Tony and Pepper, and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Clint cussed in front of me all the time!" Eve said, "But Natasha and Mr. Coulson hit him when he did." She seemed thoughtful towards the end of her statement. She stayed silent for several minutes, before she snapped her head to the side, glaring. It was like she was having an argument with an invisible being.

"Maybe I can get Bruce to go on a ghost hunt with me..." Tony mutter, staring warily at the place where Eve was glaring.

"Please don't destroy the tower this time..." Pepper sighed, and Tony gave her a hurt look.

"Bruce and I have _never _destroyed the tower..."

"Two months ago," Pepper said, "And remember all the times you three nearly blew up the Malibu house?" Eve giggled.

"Malibu house?" She asked.

"I have a house in Malibu," Tony told her, "Pepper and I will take you there once you get settled here." Eve nodded, and continued to eat. Pepper also seemed content with his reply, although a bit peeved that he changed the topic. He smirked a bit, and turned back to his pancakes. He wanted to eat as quickly as possible, so he could look at the results of Eve's test. Then maybe he could even convince Eve to let him get a closer look at that tattoo of hers...

0oO0oO0oO

Tony and Eve never made it to the lab that morning, though, Tony would have to admit, teaching Eve about cars was much more fun then blood work and tattoos. On the way to the labs, Tony had made a reference to his cars, and Eve just gave him a blank look. He realize that she must not know much about normal cars, having lived with Shield. So, rather then stop at the labs, he took his daughter down to the garage - after he got her a new shirt.

Now, the two were looking under the hood of a 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 fastback. He was explaining each part, pointing to them as he named them. Eve leaned over the edge of the car, leaning piratically inside with the engine. She was totally engrossed in his explanation, happily listening along as Tony talked about the parts of the car.

Tony was beyond ecstatic to be teaching her something. He felt like he had years worth of things he wanted to teach her, and needed to. He wanted to teach her how to build a circuit, how to program a computer, and maybe even help her build her own Iron Man (Iron Girl?) suit. He had missed 8 years of her life, and now he had to make it up to her.

"This," Tony said, "Is the radiator. " Eve nodded, and stared at him, waiting for more information. "As you know, the engine has numerous moving parts, and where there is movement there is friction. Friction creates heat. Motor oil is pumped throughout the engine block to provide some lubrication, but it isn't enough to overcome all of this excess heat energy. As a result, parts of the engine become boiling hot as part of normal operations."

"This is where the radiator system comes into play," Tony said, tapping the radiator, "The engine block must be kept relatively cool to avoid serious problems like overheating and seizure. If the pistons cannot slide freely in their cylinders due to excessive friction, they will eventually snap and cause total engine failure. To prevent this from happening, a mixture of water and anti-freeze is pumped through chambers in the engine block to absorb the excess heat and draw it away from vital areas."

Eve nodded. "Cool..." She whispered, "What's anti-freeze?"

"An anti-freeze is an additive which lowers the freezing point of a water-based liquid," Tony explained.

"Can I drink it?" The little girl asked.

"No way," Tony said, "It'll kill you. If you do accidentally drink it, tell someone and they'll take you to the hospital." Then Tony thought about. "Better yet, just call the police and they'll come help you."

"How do I call the police?" Eve asked, tilting her head to the side. Tony gave her a strange look, but pulled out his cellphone.

"Here," Tony turned the phone on, "If you ever need to call the police, or the firefighters, just dial 9-1-1. It'll work from anywhere in the U.S." Eve nodded, seeming to understand. She then turned her attention back to the car.

"What's that?" She asked, pointing to air cleaner. Tony was about to dive into his next long winded explication, when Jarvis cut him off.

"Sir," The AI said, "Mr. Wayne and his son have arrived. They are waiting for you in conference room H-9." Tony nodded, and looked down at Eve.

"Looks like our friends are here," He told her, "We can continue this after dinner." Eve's face light up with a grin, and jump off the car. Tony noted that she was covered in grease and grim. He consider making her go take a shower and change, but then smirked as he thought of the face Bruce would make when he saw her. "Let not keep them waiting," Tony snicker, holding out his hand. Eve took it, and he piratically dragged her to the elevator.

0oO0oO0oO

"Damie!" Eve shouted, running through the door into the conference room, Tony close behind. He saw the little shit blinked a few times, before he was tackled out of his chair. The two children tumbled onto the ground. They rolled around, wrestling around till Eve was sitting on Damian's chest, grinning senselessly while the older boy just looked surprised.

"Tatts?" He asked, "I thought you were assigned to a new family?" Eve giggled, and nodded.

"I was!" She said, "But guess what Damie? Uncle Fury actually assigned me to _my dad!" _She pointed to Tony as she said it. "And he's not as stupid as you said!" Damian looked at Tony, and made a disgusted face. He sat up, sending Eve tumbling backwards.

"Tin head," He said curtly, and Tony glared at him.

"Bird face," Tony replied, and Damian glared back. The kid seemed like he was about to say something, but Eve distracted him. The smaller girl scooted around and wrapped her arms around around Damian's neck, giggling. "Eve," Tony said, "Don't touch him, Damian has lots of germs." Damian glared back at him, and stood up with Eve still attached to him. Damian smirked at the look on Tony's face as Eve climbed on his back.

"Be mature Tony," All three heads turned towards the source of the voice. Bruce was sitting in another chair with his arms crossed.

"Brucie!" Eve said, jumping off Damian. Bruce stood up as she ran over. The corner of Bruce's lips turned up - much to Tony's surprise - as she ran over and hugged his legs. He patted her head.

"Eve," He greeted, and Eve grinned up at him.

"Brucie," She replied, mimicking the older man's tone. Tony had to laugh at how close the two sounded. Bruce looked at him.

"She's covered in grease Tony," His friend said, picking Eve up and placing her on his hip. Tony looked at the two for several seconds, and felt a stab of jealousy. Eve was clinging to Bruce's neck, grinning happily. She was obviously close to him and that brat - who was still smirking - and he wondered if he and Eve would ever get that close. He hoped they would.

Tony covered the jealousy with a grin. "I was teaching her about cars _Brucie,_" He said with a snicker, "Want to explain why you never told me I had a daughter?" Brucie raised his eyebrow.

"Don't call me Brucie," He said, and Tony laughed. "Damian," Bruce turned to the brat, "Take Eve to the gym while Tony and I talk." Damian looked at him, not bothering to smile.

"I always go to meetings with you, Father," He said simply. He glanced at Eve, like he wanted to do what his father said, but had to put up a fight.

"You can miss one," Bruce informed him. Damian reluctantly nodded, and Bruce set Eve on the ground. Eve practically skipped over Damian, and Tony looked at the two skeptically. He hope - really, really hoped - that she didn't have a crush on the little demon. Still, she seemed so happy to be reunited with the Wayne's, so he almost couldn't complain.

_Almost._

"Hay, I don't want that brat alone with my daughter," Tony whined, and Bruce gave him a sharp look. He held up his hands in defence. He felt a tug on the edge of his shirt, and jumped when he saw Eve looking up at him with puppy eyes.

"Can I go with Damian?" She asked, still holding his shirt. He hesitated, meeting her eye.

"Sure..." He said, and Eve smiled up at him. She ran back over and jumped on Damian's back, grinning. Damian - shockingly - smiled at her over his shoulder.

"I'll take her to the gym then," He said, moving to the door. He paused once, in front of Bruce. "Father," He said with a nod of the head, then he glared at Tony, "Metal head." Tony glared back and stuck out his tongue.

"Demon spawn," Tony muttered, and Damian made a face at him before leaving. Tony turned to Bruce and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why the hell did you forget to tell me that I had a daughter?" He asked.

"Shield knows about Batman - and all the Robins," Bruce said, "And they aren't afraid to blackmail someone." Tony nodded, and sat down. "You're handling this well," Bruce muttered.

"Did you know that she's _hunted _Bruce?" Tony said, "I've had her barely 48 hours and her creepy ass shadow friend has already made himself known to me! Not to mention her scars! And the huge tattoo on her face!"

"I take it back," Bruce said gravely, "And Grim is not all that creepy, once you get used to him." Tony looked at him skeptically.

"Grim?"

"Grim," Bruce said plainly, "That's what she calls him." Tony raised his eyebrows to the sky.

"Want to explain 'Grim' too me?" Tony asked, and Bruce nodded.

"I'll tell you what I can," He said, "But the children have been very secretive about him, and Shield still wants me to stay quiet on somethings."

"Wait," Tony held up his hand, "Don't tell me _Damian _can see that thing too?" Bruce nodded solemnly.

"Dick and Tim could as well, though not to the degree that Damian and Eve could," Bruce said, "As you can probably guess, I can too - but not the children." Tony gaped at him, slumping back in a spinning chair.

"Please tell me Eve didn't sell her soul to Satan," He mutter, and Bruce smirked.

"Not quite," He said, "From what I can gather, Grim has been with Eve for a while. He seems to be some type of guardian, or protector for Eve, and rarely leaves her side, though I don't know why. They can communicate telepathically, though Grim can also talk aloud, even if a person can't see him."

"Grim can't manifest in front of anyone," Bruce explained, "It seems to me that, unless you've had a near death experience, then you can't see him. Also, the younger you are, and the closer to death you got, the better you can see him. Which is why Damian can see him almost as well as Eve - He was dead - though I have no idea where Eve and Grim found each other."

"So what _is _Grim?" Tony asked, "And what can he _do_?" Bruce actually shrugged.

"I have no idea what Grim is," He admitted, "And if Eve know's, then she's not talking. I don't think Tim even managed to get it out of her. As for what he can do, I also have no idea. He seems to be able to do things such as faze through thing, move things, make noises. He and Eve seem to share powers as well, but I don't think she's told anyone what the extent of those powers are."

Tony leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his chin. OK, so no ghost hunt. The creepy shadow-thing is actually a strange being with unknown powers that is protecting his daughter. His daughter who Bruce suspects to also have an unknown set of powers. Tony pursed his lips. This was... His daughter was quickly becoming a mystery.

Tony had a million questions, but he settled for the simplest one. "Is there anyone that _may _know what her powers are?" He asked, and Bruce looked thoughtful.

"Well," He said, "Her mother and step-family might, but only Fury and Coulson know how to get into contact with them."

"Anyone else?" Tony asked, rolling his hand. Bruce rolled his eyes.

"There was one other person..." Bruce said thoughtfully, "After her time with Damian and I was over, she was sent to Westchester County, New York. With a man named Charles Xavier. From what Eve's told me, she was closer to Charles then she was to anyone else." Tony felt his face pale as Bruce said the name. Oh god, he need to look at those blood test results. _Now._

"Come on," Tony said, shooting up from his chair, "We need to get to my lab." Bruce raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue.

The two young men raced to the Tony's lab. If Tony was right - and he almost always was - then his daughter had a secret bigger then a ghost. He almost hoped he was wrong this time. He was always surrounded by media, and the media would practically devour Eve for just being born. But if the blood tests confirm his suspicions, then they are not just going to devour her, they are going to dismember her, and hang her limbs off the side of a bridge.

"Want to explain?" Bruce asked as they reached the lab. Tony didn't respond, and just moved to the computer.

"Jarvis, pull up Eve's blood results," He said, and then the results popped up on the screen.

Tony quickly read the results. DNA - 99.999% chance that Eve's his kid. Kidney, liver, thyroid all normal. Blood sugar was fine. No m-gene, or blood clotting. Immunology all came back normal. Cholesterol levels where a bit lower then normal, but still fine. Tony still paled even further.

Scans for the x-gene came back positive. _Shit_.

"Oh god," Tony whispered, "Eve's a mutant..."

**0oO0oO0oO**

**Hello internet! That was chapter 3 of Death's Avenger (Iron man's Daughter), hope you enjoyed it! So we found out a little bit more about Eve and Grim - but not too much. And yes, Eve really is a mutant, though most of the other ones won't come in till a little after the battle of New York.**

**So now onto the last chapter's comments!**

**Daylightsavings - Yeah, it was kind of interesting, wasn't it?**

**LunarGate3 - Eve's got a pretty interesting past, at least in my opinion. As for Grim, I'll just tell you that he's been with Eve since before Shield discovered her. Hope you liked this chapter as much as the last!**

**Currahee506 - She might... Or not... ****_Maybe..._**

**So that's it for chapter 3! Hoped you liked it and continued to read and follow this story. Also, I would like to very quickly thank the now 11 followers, 13 people who favorited, and all the people that helped me get to 440 views!**


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